


A Kettle Whistle, a Drowning Monkey, and a Dolphin Walk Into a Bar

by lethallyfreezingnewspaper



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And no purpose, Bingo, Ficlet, Fluff, Laughter, M/M, Pancakes, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, i wrote this at 3am, this has no plot, wheeeeeeee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 05:44:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19100878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lethallyfreezingnewspaper/pseuds/lethallyfreezingnewspaper
Summary: The sequence of events is as follows:-Clint falls out of the vents-Thor catches him in a bridle carry-Clint pecks him on the nose as a thank-you, as he is want to do-Thor, surprised, drops him-A pancake, one of many stuck to the ceiling from Steve’s earlier cooking attempts, falls straight onto his face-Tony wanders in on his phone, not watching where he’s going and trips over the prone, pancake-faced Clint.Steve laughs, much harder than he has in a long time, and everyone stares at him (not Clint, or Tony, but Steve).OR: My bingo prompt fill for "Your laugh is adorable" where Steve's laugh is, in fact, the opposite of adorable. Bucky loves it anyway.





	A Kettle Whistle, a Drowning Monkey, and a Dolphin Walk Into a Bar

**Author's Note:**

> This fulfills the square 'Your Laugh is Adorable' for my Good Things Happen Bingo Card. :)

Growing up with Steve, Bucky had plenty of time to build up his Official Steve Rogers Bank of Laughter.  There’s a large number of them, ranging from the Polite Haha (reserved for bigoted jokes, as he's winding up to punch someone in the face) and the Double Combo (awkward shuffle + chuckle, present only when the ladies at the corner shop are telling him to eat more), to one of Bucky’s personal favourites, the Sleepy Snort (the name says it all).

But those are all variations, warped clones of the mothership. The mother ship being, of course, Steve’s Real Laugh. It doesn’t come out often, but boy, when it comes out, it _Comes. Out._ For the first several years of Steve’s life, the only people that could make it emerge in its true form were Sarah Rogers and Bucky Barnes. The pool expanded slightly with the Howling Commandoes and has grown to include the Avengers on good days.

 While it’s definitely not a pretty laugh (it sounds far too much like a distressed parrot to ever be anything but eardrum-piercing), Bucky _loves_ it. With all his heart. That stupid, terrible laugh means that Steve is truly happy. Utterly delighted. He uses it as a homing beacon, a sign, a signal-  a little _blip!_ on Bucky’s radar, informing him of Steve’s joy. Bucky loves how he can always find the Howling Commandoes, even when they’re in the middle of a bustling camp, because all he has to do is listen out for that high-pitched shriek.

Here’s the thing, though. It was bad before the serum when it burst forth from a scrawny asthmatic. It was weird, and kind of terrible, but not completely unexpected. Coming from a 250-pound man that’s built like a freaking _brick wall_ , though? People’s reactions to it are priceless.

Bucky can recall the first time he made Steve laugh like that, after Azzano. He doesn’t really remember the circumstances, but he does remember how literally every single person in the strategic tent did a double-take, and there was that one filing personnel in the corner who did, Bucky kids you not, a quadruple-take. And Steve just sat there, completely oblivious, slapping the table as he filled up the tent with his weird cackling, and Bucky grinned as widely as he could.

Agent Carter pulled him aside, later that night. He thought he was going to be chewed out, given an early-1940s version of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In reality, she gave him a conspiratorial wink, said, _I haven’t heard that laugh before. You’re good for him._ and stalked off into the night.

Damn, that woman was made of steel.

 

After the Asset moves into Avengers Tower, he doesn’t hear that laugh, the Real Laugh, for a very long time. Everything’s too tense, with the downfall of SHIELD, and how Tony refuses to be in the same room as the Asset, and how the Asset wakes up screaming most nights, flesh hand trembling. Life isn’t the best.

It’s getting there, though.

The Asset learns to think of himself as _myself,_ to respond to _Bucky_ instead of _The Asset_. And the memories, the happy ones, start coming back in fragments, just pieces at a time. Bucky remembers Steve’s true laugh one night but has no context for it. What is this sound that pierces his mind? This strange cross between a kettle whistle, a drowning monkey, and the chatter of a dolphin?

He’s mulling it over the next day at breakfast when Clint falls out of the vents. That in itself isn’t unusual; what is unusual is how:

  1. Thor catches him in a bridle carry
  2. Clint pecks him on the nose as a thank-you, as he is want to do
  3. Thor, surprised, drops him
  4. A pancake, one of many stuck to the ceiling from Steve’s earlier cooking attempts, falls straight onto his face
  5. Tony wanders in on his phone, not watching where he’s going and trips over the prone, pancake-faced Clint.



            And Steve laughs, and laughs, and _laughs,_ and everyone is staring at him but he’s snorting now, this little pig-snorts cutting up the shrill laughter. And then Thor gives a mighty chuckle, and then everyone’s laughing. (Bucky is quietly giggling. In his own head. He is not laughing out loud, because he is a Mighty Fearsome Assassin with a Reputation to uphold). He does stare at Steve with what Natasha, mature as always, might’ve called _goo-goo eyes,_ as memories of very happy Steve Rogers, in a multitude of sizes and ages, comes flooding back to him.

            “What you lookin’ at?” Steve asks, more defensive than usual (despite what people may think, he is self-aware, and Bucky knows he’s a little self-conscious about his Real Laugh). Bucky briefly considers brushing it off to maintain the Reputation, before thinking _Fuck It, He’s Cute, and Needs More Confidence._

            “Nothin’,” He replies casually “Your laugh is adorable, s’all.”

            Steve smiles, crow’s feet crinkling the corners of his eyes.

 

_Mission Accomplished._

 

____  
  
Bucky holds his breath, waiting for Tony to realize that they’re in the same room, waiting for the cold glare and stabbing comments. But all Tony does is heave himself off the floor, threatening to kick everyone out, and bee-lines for the coffee. He doesn’t even glance in Bucky’s direction.  

Huh.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at 3 am, and posted it with minimal editing + no Beta. Lemme know of any typos and I'll fix them ASAP.  
> Hope you enjoyed :)  
> All kudos and comments are loved!


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